Below paragraph is an advertisement for the FireFly reticle. Any of you guys have experience with the FireFly and willing to share the pros / cons. Sure appreciate it. John

When you see a trophy your eyes light up. Now you'll have the scope to match. Developed by Bushnell® engineers especially for the lowest light hunting situations, Bushnell's new FireFly™ reticle illuminates the cross hairs after only a quick 1-2 minute charge with a flashlight. Unlike battery-powered reticles - which often fail at the absolute worst times - the FireFly reticle will glow green and you will see your crosshairs against the animal. Look for the exciting new FireFly reticle on select models of our Elite 4200 and 3200 riflescopes. It's the pinnacle of reticle innovation.

I have no experience, but it looks like a poor concept. What are you supposed to do, charge the thing before dusk while in the field or first thing in the morning when you get to your hunting location? No way am I going to have a white, bright flashlight illuminated for that long in the field.

Also, what happens when the illumination wears out? The "charge" will only last for so long. I think this is more likely to fail at the worst times than a battery-powered, particularly if you pay attention to your hunting equipment. Not sure green is the best color either, depending on your hunting environment.

JRMoore..................I have an Elite 4200 in a 3X9, but in the multi-plex. However, I have a friend who has the fire-fly recticle in his Elite which sits on a 300 Wby. Mag........ Charging the recticle takes only about a minute or two with a small pocket flashlight. Then, you turn off the flashlight and put it your pocket! The recticle will remain illuminated for quite awhile in the field. When the charge wears out, the recticle returns to the normal non-illuminated standard recticle for daylight hunting........I will kindly disagree with ND2000 on this one. The concept does work. The only inconvenience, if you want to call it that, is to carry a small pocket flashlight in the field with you! Just make sure that your flashlight batteries are charged up & carrying some extra batteries for your pocket flashlight would be a good idea as well........Most of, if not all of your hunting hours will be performed in daylight. The fire-fly concept is designed to work in extreme low light conditions. The hours spent in those conditions will be far less. So most of the time, you will not be using the fire-fly!

I have 6 4200's, two of which have the FireFly reticle. I wish the reticle came out earlier because all of them would have been equipped with the FireFly reticle. I am not a big fan of illuminated (battery) reticles in hunting scopes nor do I want electronic BS in my bino's as well. In all candor, just the design of the FireFly makes it a perfect low light reticle without needing a "charge". If the luminescence wore off tomorrow I won't care. The reticle is very similar to the Bushnell 3-2-1 design which is also a great low light reticle. The glass in these scopes, in my opinion, are one of the very best in any scope I've tried under $750. Optically, they are very close to the Zeiss Conquest. If there is a "con" to these scopes, I haven't found it yet. Oh, by the way, I like em.

Roy..............Like me, you love your 4200`s as well.......6 of them uh?........The 4200 on my Ruger Frontier compact is mounted conventionally over the receiver.....I can also do the scout set-up on the barrel too. Unfortunately, no 3200 or 4200 scout scopes available with the right eye relief! Dammit!.......However, my 2.5-8x28 Nikon works very well!

I haven't used one yet, but it sure sounds like a great concept to me. It seems to me that I would want it to work exactly as Big Squeeze and Roy Finn claim it does. I always carry a small flashlight with me while hunting anyway, I would need an illuminated reticle only for the twilight haf-hour or so and simplifying the scope mechanicals has got to be good, no? I think many, if not most, battery systems tend to be too bright anyway. My beloved IOR has, I think, about 10 different brightness settings. Only the two lowest ones will ever be used. From what I've gathered from my short time on this great forum, this opinion is far from rare, and not just with IOR scopes, but several others as well...

I agree with Roy on this. Even if the FF reticle didn't glow, I still like its unique step down design. So, even if you don't bother with charging it with a flashlight, it's still a nice, well thought out reticle design that shows up well in low light.

Ted

Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle.

I agree with Roy on this. Even if the FF reticle didn't glow, I still like its unique step down design. So, even if you don't bother with charging it with a flashlight, it's still a nice, well thought out reticle design that shows up well in low light.

So if I'm reading you correctly, the Firefly reticle is not only luminescent, but has a unique shape/configuration as well?

Imagineryfrnd..............You don`t have to break out the flashlite at a critical moment....Sorry! That`s not how it works! Begin the hunt by charging the recticle. The recticle will stay illuminated for quite awhile until there is enough sunlight. If Bambi comes along,,,Bambi will be quite dead!!...........

l would have thought that the phosphorescence should be good for at least a couple hours, kind of like the old alarm clock hands. Going into the woods on an evening hunt, it should not be terribly unstealthy to surreptitiously shine the little Surefire into the bell for a few moments before settling in...

So if I'm reading you correctly, the Firefly reticle is not only luminescent, but has a unique shape/configuration as well?

Yes. It has thick outer posts that step down to a short slightly thinner portion toward the center followed by thin center crosshairs. The center of the reticle isn't very well defined in this pic, but it gives you the general idea.

Ted

Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle.

I had the firefly in the Elite 3200 and got rid of it. The illumination works great, but the crosshairs were WAY to thick for me. Shooting at the range at 300 yards was very tough with the thick crosshairs. I took several animals with this scope, a bear and elk under 250 yards, then went on a mule deer hunt. I had a nice buck at 320 yards, and the crosshairs almost covered his vitals. That was the deciding factor for me. Just my personal preference I guess.

I hunt with 4200 mostly late in the evening or during the night by moon, I must be very carefullywith charging the fire fly because it could be to bright when very dark. Usually I charge it before I expect any animal, and it last up to 2 hours, if I want stay longer in the forest I use the flashlight again for 15-20 sec.

Scenario: last hour of hunting, starting to get a little dim, deer should be coming out soon. So you pull out a flashlight and try to discreetly shine the light in the objective end of the scope.

Just sounds to me like a good way to draw attention to yourself. Or am I missing something? How long does a charged reticle really last? (Have heard anything from 30 minutes to two hours). Thirty minutes is not adequate in my opinion...

Scenario: last hour of hunting, starting to get a little dim, deer should be coming out soon. So you pull out a flashlight and try to discreetly shine the light in the objective end of the scope.

Just sounds to me like a good way to draw attention to yourself. Or am I missing something? How long does a charged reticle really last? (Have heard anything from 30 minutes to two hours). Thirty minutes is not adequate in my opinion...

Somebody please let me know if I'm off the mark here...

Not to split hairs but I think you shine the light into to OCULAR bell?

I don't think it should be all that difficult to do discreetly, and even if it only lasts 30 minutes, that is still 30 minutes of prime hunting time. If you decide not to use it, you haven't lost anything by having it available, right?

If you use an illuminated reticle under real low light conditions, the brightness must be CLOSELY regulated to prevent washout. I have used the Firefly under these conditions. If you shine it for just a couple of seconds too long, you are screwed. It took a bit of trial and error with my Nightforce to get it right. If you can see the illumination at sunset, that level is too bright for 30 min. after sunset. Heck, with a good scope and a decently thick reticle, you don't need illumination. Every state varies with their laws concerning legal shooting time. Normally illumination does not become an issue until more than 30 min. after sunset, unless you are shooting with a very thin reticle or are hunting in heavy woods.

If it ain't accurate at long distance, the fact that it is flat shooting is irrelevant.

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